Left Together (44 page)

“Don’t
let anything happen to her. No matter what,” she cries.

“You’re
both going to be fine. Noah, keys are on the table. You drive.” He grabs the
keys to Kacie’s new Lexus SUV. People are screaming behind me, but I don’t stop
for them to talk to her. There’s no time for that. Noah runs around me, opening
the door. I climb into the back, still holding her. It feels like it takes him
a fucking hour to get to the driver’s seat. “I got you, Kacie,” I repeat into
her hair, trying to calm her down.

Halfway
to the hospital, he finally gets Kacie’s OB on the phone. Noah and Caroline
Haddon have been friends for years, which is why Kacie picked her to deliver
our baby. She also delivered Adam. Kacie figured if Noah let her near his baby,
she was more than trustworthy. Since she was on call, she was already at the
hospital and meets us in the emergency room.

“Just
when I thought my day was getting boring,” she says, smiling. “I have a room
ready for you.” She turns and leads the way. Over her shoulder, she tells the
staff that Kacie’s information is already being put into the system. Someone
comes over to me with a wheelchair, but I shake my head. I’m not letting her
go. Once inside the room, Noah starts going over what’s been going on, as I
gently place her on the bed. I don’t like the look they exchange, but I know
they won’t let anything happen to either one of my girls. My job is to keep
Kacie as calm as possible.

After
a few tests, an exam, and an ultrasound, Dr. Haddon tells us she’s having an
operating room prepped because Kacie needs to have a C-section. “But she’s not
due for another month,” I blurt out.

“Mr.
Pierce, your daughter doesn’t care what date it is, nor does she care what you
or I say. She’s coming today.” She rubs Kacie’s arm and addresses both of us.
“Yes, she’s early, but we already know her size and weight are acceptable.
She’s going to be just fine, but we have to go in and get her. Sometimes things
like this happen. I’ll take good care of you.” She starts to walk out of the
room and teases, “Prepare yourselves. It looks like you are going to have a
feisty control freak on your hands.”

“Fabulous,”
I groan. “Just like her mother.”

“I
heard that.”

“You
were supposed to.” Resting my forehead on Kacie’s, I sigh. “You’re going to
give me a heart attack one of these days,” I say as the nurse comes in to take
Kacie to the OR. Noah says he’ll get me ready and bring me there. “I’ll be
right behind you. I love you.” I kiss her and squeeze her hand.

“I
love you, too. Hurry up,” she whispers. It crushes me to let go of her, but I
have to. It’s obvious they are trying to get this done as soon as possible.

Noah
kisses her head and says he’ll see her soon. I feel my body start to shake.
Stress is such a nasty bitch and nothing stresses me more than my girl being
taken away from me. I hear my brother-in-law laughing at me.

“Come
on. Let’s go get you ready to meet your daughter.”

He
takes me to a room where there’s a nurse waiting for me, holding hospital
scrubs. As quickly as I can, I throw them on over my clothes, then put on a
blue surgical cap. Noah tells me who’s already in the waiting room and that
he’s going back out to give them all an update. Everything is happening so fast,
I didn’t even think to call them.

“Ready?”
the nurse asks.

“Yeah,”
I respond. I’m ready and excited for this next chapter in my life to begin. She
opens the door to take me to my wife and my baby girl.

Noah
shakes my hand and wishes me luck. As the door closes, he calls out to me. I
turn around. “Thank you for saving my sister from her past. She deserves this.”

“She’s
the one who saved me.”

When I
walk into the OR, a stool is already set up for me by Kacie’s head. My lips are
on hers before my ass sits down.

“What
took you so long?”

“This
girl…” I point over my shoulder at nothing in particular and shake my head.
“She was flirting with me in the hallway. She couldn’t keep her hands off me.

Kacie
rolls her eyes. “You wish.”

“Not
even a little.” I reach for her hand closest to me. “You look cold.”

“I’m
freezing.” She shivers.

“It’s
from the epidural,” the anesthesiologist says. “Kacie said you’re having a
girl. I have four daughters. I’m just going to say good luck.”

My
wife smiles. “He’s going to need it with the two of us.” I could stare at her
face all damn day, but the doctor says she’s getting started. “Evan, distract
me.”

“How
the hell am I supposed to do that with all these people here?”

“You’re
an ass. Talk to me.”

I chuckle
and squeeze her hand. I run down the list of everyone waiting outside. I could
have just said everyone, but naming them individually is a good distraction.
She asks where my parents are. I pass on the information Noah gave me how Uncle
Tim checked them into a hotel. I’m not concerned with those two right now. We
joke about how nothing has gone the way we planned since we met and how we
should stop trying to expect for things to be perfect all the time.

“May
sixth at fifteen forty-one. And it’s definitely a baby girl.” Dr. Haddon’s
cheerful voice breaks through our conversation to announce the birth of our
daughter. A cry unlike anything I’ve ever heard follows. Kacie and I start
crying right along with her.

“Congratulations,”
the anesthesiologist says.

“Is
she okay?” Kacie panics because she can’t see her. The nurses already have her
on the small table behind us, the specialist checking on her.

“She’s
in good hands, sweetheart,” I whisper. “Just try to relax.”

“Five
pounds, seven ounces. Eighteen inches long.” A nurse is calling out her stats
as they get them. “So far, so good, Mom and Dad. We’ll have her over to you
momentarily.”

“Can
you see her?” Kacie asks quietly.

“No,”
I answer softly, trying to look past everyone blocking my view. The little thing
is still screaming her head off, though. Her lungs appear to be working just
fine.

Finally,
the nurse comes toward me holding a very small bundle. “Here you go, Dad.
Congratulations,” she says sweetly, placing her in my arms. There’s no way for
me to explain how I feel right now. All I see is an adorable, tiny face and my
heart explodes with more love for her than I was prepared for. As thrilled as I
am, I know Kacie is anxiously waiting to see her. I move forward until she’s
close enough for her mommy to see her. We both kiss our daughter at the same
time.

“Happy
birthday, Emma Marie,” Kacie tells her. She wraps her hand around the top of
the baby’s head to run her fingers on her cheek. “I love you more than you’ll
ever know.”

Leaning
over Emma, I kiss my wife. “You are my everything, Kacie. Thank you for the
best birthday I’ve ever had.”

“I
didn’t mess it up?”

“Not
even close. This is better than any party, better than any gift I’ve ever
received.”

“You’re
okay sharing your birthday?”

“Absolutely.
I know her uncle wouldn’t mind, either.” I wipe my eye on my shoulder. More
than ever, I wish my brother was here. “Even if it means every birthday for the
rest of my life is splattered in pink, I’ll be honored to share my day with
her.”

“Don’t
forget the glitter.”

“I
really hope she doesn’t like glitter.”

“Every
girl loves glitter.”

“I’m
so screwed,” I tease, kissing my daughter again.

“You’ll
get used to it.”

“Sweetheart,
I already am. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Kacie

For
most of my life, I’ve either had things taken away, or I’ve been denied having
them in the first place. Since I met Evan, I’ve been given the world, the
stars, and everything in between. I’m not sure I deserve any of it, but I’m
selfishly keeping it all. Especially this precious baby girl who is curled up
in my arms, sleeping soundly. No one will ever be able to take her from me. No
one will ever be able to take away the love I have for her. No one.

It
took so damn long to get out of recovery and into my own room. They wouldn’t
give her to me to hold on my own until I was in a bed. At one point, she was in
the nursery being thoroughly checked out by a specialist and we were assured
that, while she’s tiny and a few weeks early, she’s absolutely perfect.

We
spend the first hour in my room, just the three of us. We cry. We laugh. We
watch her sleep. We simply enjoy our new family. Thankfully, we aren’t the only
people who have already fallen in love with our daughter, so it’s time to
introduce her to them. Noah and Addie come in first. My brother snatches her up
and promises her anything she wants. I wonder where I’ve heard
that
before. After they both hold her, Noah goes out to bring everyone else in. Evan
panics, thinking it’s going to be overwhelming, but it works out. Our friends
and family file in and most of them simply steal a peek or a kiss. They tell us
they’ll be back after we’ve gotten some rest.

Jade
cries as she sits down on the bed next to me. “She’s so beautiful and her name
is perfect! Gram would be so happy.” No matter what her first name was, it was
important that her middle name was my grandmother’s. I gently slide Emma into
her arms. “Maybe her and Jax will get married and have their happily ever
after,” she whispers as Jake walks into my room.

“Or
maybe they’ll be best friends,” I say, looking at Jake. He winks at me, then
turns to congratulate Evan. I don’t think the huge smile has left my husband’s
face since he first laid eyes on the newest love of his life.

“That’ll
be good, too,” Jade responds. Even though she doesn’t want to, she places my
daughter back in my arms.

Jake
takes his sister’s spot. “Congratulations,” he says, leaning over to run his
thumb along Emma’s cheek. “She’s perfect.”

“She
is, isn’t she?”

“You
did good, Momma.” Jake softly kisses my cheek. “I’ll come check on you girls
tomorrow. You look exhausted and should hand her off to her dad so you can get
some sleep.”

“I
will. Thank you for coming.”

“I
wouldn’t have missed this for anything.”

“Uncle
Evan!” Ethan comes into the room.

“Hey!
Did you come to meet your cousin?”

“Yes!”
He’s so excited, it’s adorable. Evan lifts him up so he can see her. “She’s
pretty, like Aunt Kacie.”

“Yes,
she is,” Evan laughs.

“Do
you want to hold her?” I ask. Evan stills and glares at me, wondering why I
just asked a nine-year-old if he wants to hold our baby who’s only two hours
old. “It’s okay.” I pat the spot next to me, and Evan hesitantly puts him down.

“Be
careful, buddy,” Evan tells him.

“Remember
what I told you the other day. Just make sure you hold her head,” I say as I
prop her in his arms.

He
leans over just as everyone else has and ever-so-softly places a kiss on her
nose. “Don’t worry, Uncle Evan. When you’re not around, I’ll protect her.”

“Thanks,
Ethan.”

***

Four
days later, we’re finally able to leave the hospital. I’m so ready to sleep in
my own bed and take a shower in my own bathroom. There really is no place like
home. Evan carries my bags and Emma in her car seat, while I slowly walk beside
him. He holds my hand the same way he has since we started dating. If he ever
stops, it’ll break my heart.

I’m
getting ready to ask him where our car is when I see a familiar face holding
open the door of a limo. I look up at Evan and he smiles. “Don’t look at me. He
insisted.”

“What
are you doing here?” I ask as he comes over to hug me.

“Sweet
Pea, it would only be right for me to drive you and Peanut home today,” Robert
says.  Shortly after quitting his previous job, he started his own company. He
now has a whole fleet of different vehicles and people who work for him. He’s
never been happier.

“Then,
please, take me home.”

He
packs us in and drops us at our front door, promising to come back after we’ve
gotten settled.

Evan
helps me upstairs to our bedroom. I’ve said more than once how much I really
need a shower so, leaving Emma in his perfectly capable hands, I disappear into
the bathroom. The water massages every part of my body that has been tortured
since getting pregnant. Not wanting to be away from my baby for too long, I
turn off the water and quickly get dressed. Walking back into the bedroom, I
see Evan lounging on the bed with Emma.

For
years, I thought I was in love with this man, but seeing him in our home with
our tiny daughter comfortably in his muscular arms makes me realize I never
knew what love was until this very moment. I could stand here and watch them
forever, but Evan notices me.

“Everything
okay?” he asks.